BOC, China Development Bank sign landmark deal for $ 140 m funding

Bank of Ceylon Chairman Kanchana Ratwatte holds the agreement after  signing a landmark $140 million long-term facility to support local businesses with China Development Bank (CDB).  Officials of China Development Bank joined the signing ceremony online. From left: CDB Legal Counsel Nithya Partners’ Naomal Goonewardena, BOC Acting General Manager D. P. K. Gunasekera, Treasury Deputy Secretary R. M. P. Rathnayaka, Chinese Embassy Commercial Counsellor Yang Zuoyuan, Treasury Assistant General Manager R. M. N. Jeewantha and BOC Assistant General Manager (International) S. Sivanjan - Pic by Ruwan Walpola

• Two giants to promote cooperate cooperation between financial institutions of Sri Lanka and China under Belt and Road Initiative

In a landmark deal, State-owned giant Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and China Development Bank (CDB), the world’s largest development banking supporter, yesterday entered into a $ 140 million (around Rs. 25 billion) long-term facility.

BOC Chairman Kanchana Ratwatte said the strength that was built over 80 years and owning the strongest Balance Sheet in the country paved way in obtaining this facility at a favourable rate. BOC will draw the facility via two tranches of $ 70 million each. 

In a statement, BOC said the signing of this facility agreement will be a milestone for a more comprehensive and enhanced cooperation between the two banks. The duo will also promote the cooperation between financial institutions of Sri Lanka and China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

The facility will be utilised for supplementing BOC’s general lending requirements, which will provide much needed support during Sri Lanka’s fight against COVID-19.

BOC said as the largest commercial bank in Sri Lanka, BOC considers itself as the bankers to the nation with the strongest balance sheet and the No. 1 banking brand value, while CDB is the world’s largest development financial institution and the largest Chinese bank for financing cooperation, long-term lending and bond issuance.

“BOC and CDB have established a long-term partnership ever since 2010, with this year marking the tenth anniversary of cooperation between the two banks,” the statement added. Partnered with BOC, CDB has also provided the first CNY on-lending facility in Sri Lanka. 

BOC is a powerhouse that has fuelled a nation’s hopes and aspirations with banking solutions and reigns supreme as the only State institution amongst the most admired entities in Sri Lanka, maintaining a foreign correspondent bank network of over 800 banks that spreads across the world. It has continued to appear as one of the Top 1000 Banks in the world by “The Banker” UK magazine.